Strasbourg, France - A controversial new law reportedly approved by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that makes it illegal for Shiite women to refuse their husbands sex is "extremely alarming and troublesome" for NATO allies, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Friday in the French city of Strasbourg. "We are calling for President Karzai to come forward and give an explanation about the legislation as quickly as possible," Cannon told reporters just hours before the start of a two-day NATO summit celebrating the 60th anniversary of the alliance's founding.
Media reports said that the law, which has not yet been published, bans women from seeking work, getting an education or making a doctor's appointment without their husband's permission.
In addition, the law reportedly also mandates that only fathers and grandfathers can be granted child custody.
Opponents of the legislation have described it as "worse than during the Taliban".
"The law is offensive and hurtful to women," Cannon said, and added that it it appeared to have been adopted illegitimately.
Critics accused Karzai of pandering to crucial Shiite swing voters for the upcoming presidential poll, which is scheduled for August.
Asked about the law earlier this week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "Women's rights are a central part of American foreign policy in the Obama administration.... We will continue to work very hard on behalf of women and girls in Afghanistan."
